British stallion set for black hole in Land of Rising Sun

Longchamp was a special place on Sunday, one where a 10-minute walk through the enclosures was enough to reaffirm your faith in racing. If a single horse can persuade many thousands of people to travel halfway around the world, then this can only be a sport with a future that is as rich as its past. The afternoon was a coming-of-age party for, and a celebration of, Japanese racing.

Deep Impact was supposed to go whoosh two furlongs from home. Instead, he went phutt. But even then, there was a sense that this was just the beginning. If he returns to Paris next year, with a prep race behind him and a pacemaker in front, his young and wildly enthusiastic followers may well retrieve the money they left behind this time around.

Coming of age is not just about celebrations, though. It involves fresh responsibilities too, and one concern about Japan's arrival as a major player is that its bloodstock industry remains a closed world. When a horse from Europe retires to stud in Japan, a small part of the global thoroughbred gene pool is effectively imprisoned: they go, but they don't come back. That is never likely to be a positive development for the breed as a whole.

It is a problem that is currently exercising minds at the National Stud, which had hoped to add David Junior, the Eclipse Stakes winner, to its stallion roster next year. The Stud made an offer of $7.7m (£4.1m) to buy the colt, who is a son of the American stallion Pleasant Tap, and whose pedigree does not include the normally ubiquitous Northern Dancer. As such, he would offer European breeders a refreshing change from the bloodlines that they are used to working with.

The Japan Racing Association is thinking along similar lines, however, and has a bid of $8m on the table. Now, $300,000 (£160,000) is not a great deal of money when it comes to deals of this sort, but David Sullivan, who owns 50% of David Junior, is thought to be leaning towards the JRA's offer.

Since we live in a capitalist economy, that is a choice which Sullivan is fully entitled to make. But it is worth noting that this is a market in which money swills around liberally, yet the freedom of movement of the commodity involved is much more limited.

That could have long-term implications for Britain's breeders, and while an owner is not obliged to consider the overall picture, it would make a refreshing change if Sullivan was minded to do so.

David Junior is being prepared for a bold attempt on next month's Breeders' Cup Classic, when success would make him more desirable still to breeders. If it turns out that none of his offspring will ever see a European track, however, even taking the world's most prestigious dirt race might feel a little hollow.